Democrats Say Continue South Dakota GOED Investigation

The Richard Benda portion of the Northern Beef Packers/Governor’s Office of Economic Development/South Dakota Regional Center, Incorporated saga was revealed last week with the release confirming Benda’s suicide. So now we know that Benda siphoned over a half million dollars from the project.

Keeping the pressure on the Governor and State officials is the South Dakota Democratic Party. Executive Director Zach Crago would like the investigation to go further and be conducted by an outside agency into the GOED. Crago is less than satisfied with the findings and feels that Attorney General Marty Jackley left too many loose ends. In a press release, Crago outlined his motivation behind the charges.

"It is outrageous that Attorney General Marty Jackley has terminated his so called investigation without addressing the theft of public funds. This is exactly why I had called on Mr.Jackley to recuse himself. He is simply unwilling to conduct a real investigation that may look too closely into his patron former Governor Mike Rounds, who alone had the authority to grant state dollars to the bankrupt Northern Beef Packers plant. There are too many unanswered questions, and the Attorney General has proven he will not look to find the answers.

"It is time for Governor Daugaard to name an independent special prosecutor. $550,000 was stolen from the South Dakota taxpayer. South Dakotans deserve a real investigation to get to the bottom of this.”